Eagles lacked some necessary ingredients to put away Patriots

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Philadelphia Eagles won everything but the football game.

They were louder and looser during the week, more energetic in the first half, and their fans turned the city of Jacksonville and Alltel Stadium into a churning, chanting sea of green.

But the Eagles weren’t able to match the poise, patience and precision of the New England Patriots in the heightened reality of Super Bowl XXXIX.

Especially not when it mattered most, in the fourth quarter of the last and largest game of the NFL season.

Too many turnovers, a shockingly sluggish hurry-up offense and a questionable decision to attempt an onsides kick in the game’s final two minutes doomed the Eagles to a 24-21 loss to the Patriots in a down-to-the-wire championship game Sunday night.

New England was far from perfect in capturing its third Super Bowl title in four years and staking its claim as the sport’s latest dynasty of the modern era – joining the legendary likes of Dallas in the 1990s, San Francisco in the 1980s and Pittsburgh in the 1970s.

Penalties, blown coverages, a lost fumble in a goal-line situation kept the Patriots from building the comfortable margin and imposing victory that many national observers had predicted in their prognostications for this Super Bowl.

But the Patriots showed their big-game experience, raising their play in the second half, cutting down on their mistakes and daring the Eagles to meet them at the highest level in the fourth quarter.

That’s where the Eagles faltered.

That’s where their inexperience showed.

Philadelphia quarterback Donovan McNabb passed for 357 yards and three touchdowns. But his three interceptions were crucial factors in the game, especially since New England quarterback Tom Brady did not throw an interception.

McNabb threw two interceptions in the fourth quarter, including a wobbly overthrow that New England linebacker Tedy Bruschi picked off at the Patriots’ 24 with a little more than seven minutes to play.

For long stretches in the fourth quarter, McNabb and the Eagles seemed to lack the urgency necessary to overcome a 10-point deficit against the defending Super Bowl champions. Huddling and walking to the line of scrimmage, the Eagles’ offense was not in the kind of desperate hurry-up mode that the situation demanded.

McNabb fired a 30-yard strike to Greg Lewis on a busted New England coverage to pull the Eagles within 24-21 with one minute and 48 seconds remaining. With two timeouts, the Eagles could have kicked off deep, held the Patriots, and regained possession at around their 35- or 40-yard line with a little less than a minute remaining.

They would have needed 30 yards to get kicker David Akers into position for a tying field goal.

Instead, the Eagles tried an onsides kick. New England’s Christian Fauria recovered, giving the Patriots possession at the Eagles’ 41.

That changed field position, and resulted in the Eagles regaining possession with 0:46 on the clock at their own 4-yard line. From there, they had no chance.

In the stands, in the concourses, in the grounds outside the stadium, it wasn’t even close. It was 10-to-1, Eagles fans to Patriots fans.

Everywhere you looked, you saw green (including, oddly enough, a No. 59 Mike Mamula jersey and a No. 39 Major Everett jersey). Everywhere you listened, there was an ‘E-A-G-L-E-S’ chant and an impromptu rendition of the fight song.

Where did these people come from? How did they get tickets?

It was an absolute invasion of a supposedly neutral site, Philadelphia becoming the home team and New England the visitors in a stadium on the northeast coast of Florida in the dead of winter.

But that was only fitting, since the energy of the crowd and the magnitude of the moment seemed to lift the Eagles to another level, to another place – a place of championships.

Philadelphia was the better team in the first half, which ended in a 7-7 tie. The Eagles seemed to have more energy, and more focus, and appeared on the verge of winning the first Super Bowl in franchise history.

But the Patriots are the Patriots. They have won three Super Bowl titles in four years for a reason.

They raised their game in the second half, as their offensive line began to create running room for Corey Dillon and Kevin Faulk, and Brady and wide receiver Deion Branch – the game’s Most Valuable Player – began to find holes in the Philadelphia secondary.

The Eagles played hard, if not particularly well, and walked out into the cool Florida night with their heads high.

“Still a good year,” McNabb said.

Wide receiver Terrell Owens, playing for the first time since fracturing his fibula Dec. 19, made a miraculous return with nine receptions for 122 yards. Lewis, Brian Westbrook, Todd Pinkston – they all made big plays in the big game.

It had the look and sound of the Eagles’ day – with green everywhere in the city and in the stands, with this determined team playing with enough energy to back up their mid-week confidence and win a championship.

The Eagles won everything but the game.

The Patriots, that’s their specialty.